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Truth in Advertising - Recruiting Staff in India

At a previous company, I had to manage staff that were completely untrustworthy, never followed through on projects, always had excuses why they couldn't work on projects, completed work poorly and were generally difficult to manage. Exacerbating the problem was top management who never shared projects with middle management but went direct to managed staff to get work done with no regard as to how other work was to be completed.

That said, I did my work to the best of my ability AND their work. One individual, who had the title of Senior Marketing Manager was by far the worst. Whenever asked where he was with a project, he had always never started it because he was "working on another project for the CEO". His work was shoddy at best, rife with misspellings. Once he had an entire trade show project, booth panels, printed deliverables, etc. to work on and instead of using a reputable translation service, took it upon himself to pocket to costs and use Google Translate to put everything in Russian; it was a complete disaster. Did he get into trouble for this? No. When I asked for him to be replaced, the COO said that he had hired him personally and it was my responsibility to mentor him. While I agree with the concept, there is only so much that can be taught to someone who doesn't want to learn.

I'm no longer with the firm, but yesterday, I got a connection request on Linkedin from him. Here's what his Summary on linkedin states:

Hmm. Sounds familiar, methinks. First, he is writing sentences in proper English, something he was unable to do in the three years I got emails from him. Here's my summary:

Hmmm.  So what does he say he does at the company we both worked for?

Interesting. While he played a role in packaging and did all of the photography, he was not involved in any other aspect he has stated were his responsibilities. There is no way that he could write a requirements doc, do social media, write a film brief - he can't write a decent sentence in English. Here's mine:

A lot of what's written on his is from a previous version of my resume, something which he has in his possession because one time I had given him my backup external drive while at a trade show for him to use in case a project came in that required him to work on projects I'd been developing. He had copied EVERYTHING, including my personal files, photos, etc. onto his computer while performing none of the work he was supposed to work on. No one seemed to think this was an issue.

Unless his title really changed, he's still Senior Marketing Manager, not Creative Head. And he's still no good.

This is not an isolated case. I see hundreds of resumes that are cut and pasted from other people's CVs. Recruiters tell me that the single toughest issue they fight in recruiting staff in India is the veracity of people's CVs. This manager will likely find something else to do, another employer who thinks he can actually do this work, which he very much can't. And that's too bad, because honest hardworking staff should get that position, not a liar. I feel bad for the company that hires him because what they expect as an employee is hardly what he represent himself to be.

What do you think about this issue? As a recruiter? Potential hire? As a company?

Will the "I" in BRIC become Indonesia? CNN Says So.

What Indian Management Needs to Understand About the Global Economy

I watch CNN a lot. Recently on "Quest Means Business", Quest asked an Indian business analyst, "Aren't you concerned about India's failure to deliver?" Fareed Zakari of "GPS" on CNN recently did a spot on the potential of Indonesia and forecasted that with India's slowing growth, and Indonesia's rise, that BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India & China) may soon replace the "I" in BRIC with Indonesia.

There are substantial flaws in India's ability to evolve, from its lack of quality education for the majority of its citizens, its substantial failing at providing infrastructure (roads, water, electricity, housing, etc.), and by far the worst, the deep, long term and entrenched corruption at local, state and national levels. Manufacturing and (some) innovation have been making substantial change, but I keep hearing, "Where is India's Google, Facebook, or Groupon?" What's built here, while some are wildly successful, are copycats, not gamechangers.

Indians like to point at the Tata Nano as a gamechanger and I scoff at that, especially for India. While the idea at heart makes sense, there problems that make it not a game changer:
1. It is a cheap car for the masses in a country of 1 billion that doesn't have roads to handle the current traffic.
2. It uses fossil fuels. If this car was green -- electric, or built on a Stirling engine using hydrogen, thereby reducing CO2 in a country rapidly succumbing to the worst pollution levels in the world, it could have been a gamechanger.
3. It's not as cheap as it was supposed to be. The design itself has issues (try fixing a stall on the road - you have to take the back seat out to access key components) so it won't work in Western countries (and I'm not sure it has the emissions technology built in to allow it to be sold in the EU or California).
4. An industry insider said that 25% of the components that make up the Nano are manufactured in China.
5. It was a marketing disaster.

Another weakness than many Indian companies have selling overseas is that many don't respect that the customer is king and you need to respond to them as such. One Indian CEO said to me. "Why should I bother with customer service when there are a billion of us here?" Ethics are expected in global business. Excellent customer service is expected. Product quality is demanded, on time at the price quoted. This issue becomes more dominant when working with Western buyers because we don't negotiate off proposal prices. What you've presented, we usually believe to be the final price. We respect that and pay it. Our Indian vendors consider us fools for doing so, thus their existing high profits. This is changing as salaries continue to rise and Western companies go elsewhere.

So where should Indian companies go? Start domestically. Every MNC is salivating on India's fast rising domestic market and there's a lot of money up for grabs. Foreign products go for high prices due to draconian tariffs, but people are willing to pay for them because they expect a quality product and customer service, things they're not sure they'll get with a domestic product. The Chinese have been successful here by producing low quality goods at a price that's more affordable, providing long term pricing contacts that allow for minimized risk, even though there are conflicts on their shared border. India is trying to keep the "Giant from the North" from flooding their market with cheap goods, but they're coming in anyway, cutting into the domestic market that India's companies should already be serving.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/huawei-will-china-conquer-the-world/article2243928/

Another issue is culture. Middle managers build fiefdoms for themselves and seek short term solutions, instead of convincing their seniors on long term strategies that will sustain them over the next decade instead of the next year. Incentives based on performance need to be standard practice. Communications from the CEO all the way down to the tea boy needs to be clear, measurable and effective. People need to know what you want, when you want it, and engage across the company, You're a team, people, not silos of information and skills sets to set upon each other in a drag-out fight for supremacy.

Invest in serious innovation, not copying other companies. Sure, you might be able to copy a widget, even make it better at a lower price, but that's not really innovation. Make a widget that the consumer doesn't know he wants yet. Find ways to see a problem and come up with a different, more elegant solution. Figure out how to change the world. That's innovation, and if Indian companies really do start investing in real innovation, no one would question the "I" in BRIC. Watch out.

Do You Have A Case of the Mondays? (NSFW)

I love istock. Yu Yu and I were looking for royalty-free images for a logo she needs to develop and we stumbled upon CSA Images. As we were reviewing these, we decided to come up with some captions for a few.

NOTE: We're using low-res comps because this is just for fun. We highly encourage you to visit istockphoto.com, which has a wealth of amazing images, illustrations, video available for download at very reasonable prices.

"And this is how we plan to screw over the employees."

"Why yes, I DO lead the Marketing Department. How did you know?"

 "Why yes, I did overdo the Xanax today... why is the wall paper moving?"

"Hey! You're zipper's open."

Man: "Honey, I have to confess. I'm a teabagger."

Woman: "Oh, honey, I love the Tea Party, too!"

"I hope he doesn't discover my balls are tucked in."

"Oh no, I think they know I peed in the office coffee this morning..."

Enjoy.

Why I'm in Love with Sarah Lacy and How to Improve Pando Daily

Sarah Lacy came to India for research on her book about entrepreneurs, Brilliant, Crazy, Cocky: How the Top 1% of Entrepreneurs Profit from Global Chaos. I was fortunate to meet her and take her to visit villages in Rajasthan where we met people who were benefitting from VNL's solar powered GSM and broadband equipment for rural networks. I think she's great and her work at TechCrunch was phenomenal. When Michael Arrington decided to sell Tech Crunch to AOL, my first thought was "Oh, no, tell me this is not true." I knew TechCrunch would never be the same.

Some time later, Sarah Lacy left TechCrunch and started a new venture called Pando Daily, which I love. It's TechCrunch, but even better. (You have to read this inspiring post from Sarah on why she started Pando Daily.) The writers and executives she's gathered together make for a formidable team and I can only say good things about their future. I joined and get regular updates in my email of valuable content that I can use in my daily life to improve the work I do. I find it that valuable. Really. 

However, I do have a few concerns. How will they monetize their valuable content? Will I pay for it? Probably not. Do I visit their site often? Not as much as I should because the emails come to me fast and furious every day and I read all the complete posts as emails. I suggest they give me one paragraph and a link to get me back to their site. Their reader comments are good though, so I tend to visit on more interesting posts to read them and engage, but there's no like button. I'd love to be able to rate great comments that add to the story. Her readers are just as valuable as her writers in many ways. It's that awesome.

I'd also like a home page that lists the latest posts. I find the navigation to be cumbersome. I want to read more, feel more involved, but I have to decide between deals, people, companies, or culture, when I want to see all. It's not intuitive...

I encourage you to visit Pando Daily today. Sign up and get the posts in your emails. They're a fascinating take on the tech world from a global view point. Because Sarah has traveled everywhere, she understands that Apple in Silicon Vally equals China and beyond and it shows. I'm a huge fan and wish her the best in her new venture.

How To Market Luxury Goods in India

SO HOW DO YOU MARKET LUXURY GOODS IN INDIA?

Internet

Affluent customers are particularly heavy users of the internet for both gathering information and purchasing online. Globally, up to 90% of them regularly shop online (India's #'s not found.). The internet is their primary source for locating information on a luxury brand. In India, most people access the internet via smartphones and other handheld peripherals, like iPad and Galaxy Tabs. The digital programme is required to match the brand requirements on these items to the rest of the digital offering.

Many of the American and European luxury brands that are making huge profits in India are failing to deliver an online experience that appeals to an increasingly technologically savvy Indian market. In order to make the browsing and buying experience as engaging and appealing as possible to consumers, brands are going to have to bring newer technology into stores, on mobiles and to people’s homes. Luxury brands are going to have to be innovative, creative and at the cutting edge of technology, or they risk being left behind.

Web Site: Content strategy should be to communicate the mythology of your brand, using digital as a piece of the entire marketing programme. Tell the story of your brand's rich history, its craftsmanship, design and the history and background surrounding each product as they are introduced. Position the brand as a cultural tastemaker, and act as a trusted guide to lifestyle enhancement. Encourage a spirit of competition through exclusive online promotions and activities. Talk to younger affluent audiences to convert them to lifelong purchasers of the brand. Offer flawless online service and support. Finally, promote exclusivity via a closed extranet, available only to those who have purchased their products through the company. Within this, provide a Personal Shopping service that can alert them on product availability based on preferences they provide, e.g., a customer may prefer green, love organic materials, and only use a particular product type. With this information, the sales cycle is shortened when a product fitting all these parameters is introduced. (You could also provide this as a virtual personal shopper service on the public site as well or instead.) Users could provide profiles if they wish, and contribute by posting photos of their collection of your products. Offer members-only exclusive content, promotions, and contests that further reinforce the brand's image.

Blog: the focus should be primarily on lifestyle issues and fine living, essentially making the brand an arbiter of taste, recognizing and guiding consumers to cultural refinement. This content can be a valuable way to engage with the brand by associating it with other luxury products, events, etc. You can also provide ongoing educational content on how to care for the product, storage, cleaning, etc. adding value to the web site. Another section can be a virtual museum of your brand's technological breakthroughs and innovations - what makes them special.

Online Advertising:
Top Indian Lifestyle Sites

•   lifestylehub.com
•   cscout.com
•   shopping.indiatimes.com
•   lifepositive.com
•   ayurjeeva.com
•   sify.com
•   lifestyle.rediff.com
•   3to6.com
•   living.oneindia.in
•   imagesfashion.com
•   Luxe Lore and Justdial- Lifestyle

Top Indian Travel SItes

•   makemytrip.com
•   yatra.com
•   cleartrip
•   expedia.com
•   indianrailways.com

Social Media: Facebook Fan Page, Linkedin Corporate Page, and Twitter accounts should be deployed to act as intermediaries driving traffic to the web site and calls to action, including invitations to exclusive events, new store openings, new pen launches, etc.. Constantly updated content (daily or 3x/week) will include links back to the web site, exclusive content, and links to external sites that fit into enhancing the consumers' lifestyle. Twitter is essential for on-site reports, tweeting backstage from events, posting "live" photos, etc. These tweets enhance the brand's image by providing insight into exclusive events, particularly powerful to the Newly Rich segment and aspirational buyers. Campaigns can be reinforced through posting on social media and enable consumers to respond directly. The online engagement between the consumer and the brand is particularly powerful when these conversations take place publicly, enabling us to address issues and questions once and distributed to many. It also enables us to provide a digital archive of the history of our activities within India for those who missed them. This strategy ties in with building up younger, aspirational buyers and making them lifelong purchasers.

Email Newsletters: Weekly or Monthly HTML newsletters segmented to existing customers, existing leads that have yet to make a purchase, and one-off list rentals introducing the product.

Webinars

Rich Media Posts (Youtube)

APIs: Building phone apps that work with GPS location to identify locations closest to you in any Indian city. Later this can be expanded to included "(Your brand) Selects" - lifestyle-related selections of stores, restaurants, and other locations recommended to our audience.

Outdoor

•   Billboards (Hoardings) 
•   Airports
•   Hotels

Partnerships & Sponsorships

•   High End Sporting Events (Horse racing, Formula 1, Polo, Golf, Regattas, Sailing)
•   Fashion Weeks (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata), Tie-ups with Indian Designers
•   International Film & Fine Books Festivals
•   Classical Performing Arts Festivals
•   Gentlemen's Clubs (ex. Tollygunge Club, Kolkata)
•   Hotels, Spas, and Resorts: 80% of luxury POS resides here, however, it is a restricted environment with limited footfalls and visual impact.
•   Airports: Newer, modernised airports are creating dedicated retail space for luxury items.
•   Upscale Shopping Malls (eg., Emporio in Delhi, UB City in Bangalore)
•   Guerilla Marketing
•   Special Events - Exclusive, invitation-only events with special guests and celebrities
•   Launch Parties
•   Store Openings

When producing marketing aimed at the luxury target group, ensure your unique voice as a brand establishes you as an arbiter of taste. The people with money travel frequently. They've experienced European and North American service levels. They know what the purchasing experience is like there. They can't get it here, even in the finest malls in the most expensive cities here. You need to define, as part of your marketing strategy, how to differentiate yourself from competitors and provide service levels and purchasing experiences on par with what these customers have experienced elsewhere. Otherwise, you're toast.

India's High Potential Gold Mine: The Luxury Market

Luxury marketing in India is a conundrum. With a booming economy, India is the newest and most challenging target for luxury goods manufacturers worldwide. Indian luxury goods market which was valued at US$ 4.3 billion* in 2007 has grown manifold. The Indian economy has one of the highest disposable incomes and 126,000 HNIs (High Networth Individuals) and another 3 million households earning above 10 lakhs also ready to consume luxury. The base is huge and the market ripe.

According to Forbes, India has the fastest-growing population of millionaires in the world. But for Western luxury brands operating in the country, grabbing a piece of the market has proven more difficult than anticipated and many are in the process of re-conceiving their India strategies. Part of the problem is that Western luxury brands don’t seem to understand Indian consumers. When they first entered India, they created splashy advertising campaigns targeting the old money elite. But the results were poor, largely because this customer segment consists of frequent international travelers who overwhelmingly prefer the experience of purchasing Western luxury goods abroad, where brands offer them wider choice, better service and more competitive pricing than what’s currently available inside India. This plan aims to counter this finding.

* According to India Luxury Review
** Thomas Kastgen, Chairman, Leading Brands of the World

Across all segments, the Indian consumer is always seeking value for their money. The customer is typically very demanding, expecting to be pampered with personal visits to their home or office, and wants to get extra value adds as part of the purchase. These are the segments of consumers you need too look out for:

• Luxuriented. Primary consumers of luxury goods. Source of affluence is largely traditional and inherited wealth. Most importantly, they have high levels of exposure and awareness to world class living. Increasingly showing a preference for European goods. Exclusivity, brand invisibility, and product quality are all important triggers for purchase. They are typically urban, and travel internationally a great deal, from 3 times a year to every month. Prefers to shop overseas for two main reasons: price is lower overseas, and the purchasing experience and surroundings are vastly superior. (e.g., picture the buying experience in Tiffany's on 5th Avenue in New York City to buying the same pen in Colaba Causeway, Mumbai or Connaught Place in Delhi.)
• New Rich. Adequate spending power. Acquiring orientation to luxury. Brand visibility and flamboyance are important, yet price point can be a barrier. Looking for aspirational labels - wants to show peers that they are successful and powerful.
• Getting There. Acquiring spending power. Spends mainly on high end white goods, education of children, better housing and larger automobiles. 
• Mid Affluents are also acquiring orientation to luxury, however unlikely to indulge beyond a limit.

Market Growth


The growth rate for the industry is 14.6 per cent. India’s luxury goods market of Rs 717 billion is set to expand dramatically over the next ten years. India’s total retail market has been estimated at $160 billion or Rs 7,170 billion, covering eight million consumers. Of them, one million are considered to be in the luxury brands segment.

There are over one million luxury consumers, which is only a fraction of the eight million plus consumers who have HNW disposable incomes but are unfamiliar with the luxury segment. The growth rate for the industry is 14.6 per cent. India’s luxury goods market of Rs 717 billion is set to expand dramatically over the next ten years. India’s total retail market has been estimated at $160 billion or Rs 7,170 billion, covering eight million consumers. Of them, one million are considered to be in the luxury brands segment.

According to Mr Sanjay Kapoor, Chairman, CII Luxury Goods Forum and MD, Genesis Luxury Fashion Pvt. Ltd., "The luxury industry in India has shown very promising growth over the last couple of years and is set to grow at a minimum of 25% per year over the next few years with India emerging as a luxury shopping destination. We have the right environment in place for international luxury brands to have a retail presence across our major metros. I feel we are at the threshold of a great expansion and it is indeed encouraging to be part of this new drive."

Electronics is growing at the top end, growing at 25 per cent. The fashion industry, cars, and jewelry segments are growing at 20 per cent. Growth in the luxury pens segment is assumed to be similar to the growth pattern seen in the jewelry segment.

Critical Issues

Brand awareness activities should be commensurate with not only this year's middle and upper income group’s spending power, but must also develop their products and their brands so that they can meet the demands of a local economy which will have outstripped many European economies within 10 to 15 years.

Market microsegmentation will be required to ensure the appropriate products are offered to the correct buyer. Messaging, materials, distribution and approach need to be segmented to address their triggers to purchase.

The single most important reason for luxury retail not taking off in India is the lack of luxury retail environments. It is important to see how this segment will evolve in the future considering that existing retail formats in India are in 5 star hotels or as stand-alone stores. I've spoken with a number of high net worth individuals in India who say they'd rather go to Fifth Avenue in New York to purchase because a) the price will be lower and b) the purchasing experience is far better. Stay tuned for my next post on How To Market Luxury Goods in India.